Despite recent cluster infections South Korea’s schools have begun their phased reopening:

Schools finally reopened Wednesday after a monthslong closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, putting to the test the government ability to control outbreaks at schools.

In a phased reopening plan, high school seniors became the first group to attend in-person classes, 79 days after the original semester start day of March 2. The other students, including preschoolers, will return to school by June 8.

The government has postponed school reopening five times already, as parents and school officials worried about potential coronavirus outbreak. Small clusters of infections added to the anxiety amid prolonged social distancing.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the preventive measures should be something closely watched by school administrators in the United States to implement best practices.

North Korea has renewed its claims that it did not hijack Korean Air flight YS-11 back in 1969:

After half a century, North Korea still insists it did not kidnap the South Korean passengers aboard Korean Air Lines flight YS-11 in 1969, according to a letter released by a United Nations human rights agency Monday.    
   
The incident in question refers to the hijacking of Korean Air Lines (KAL) flight YS-11, which was carrying four crew members and 46 passengers, on Dec. 11, 1969. The plane was destined for Gimpo International Airport, but after taking off from Gangneung, Gangwon, a North Korean spy aboard the plane forced the pilots to redirect the plane to land near Wonsan in North Korea that afternoon.    
   
Pyongyang claimed the pilots had voluntarily defected in protest of the military junta that ruled South Korea at the time.    
   
Thirty-nine passengers were repatriated back to the South two months later, but 11 never returned.   

Joong Ang Ilbo via a reader tip

You can read more at the link, but the North Koreans made this same claim immediately after the hijacking. The North Koreans even put the two pilots, Yu Byong-ha and Choe Sok-man on radio where they confirmed this claim.  However, these claims were dismissed by the ROK authorities because the two pilots were both decorated ROK Air Force veterans who the investigation determined had no reason to defect. 

In fact the ROK authorities investigated the backgrounds of all 46 passengers on board the plane and cleared everyone except for two men, Han Chang-gi and Paek In-yong.  The ROK authorities could not find any background information on these two men leading them to believe they were the hijackers. The pilots’ so called confession on the radio was likely due to the threats made against them by the North Koreans. 

This hijacking ended up causing a huge uproar within South Korean society because this provocation was directed solely at civilians unlike past provocations that were primarily directed at military and government targets. What is really sad about this, is that today in South Korea there is probably a good amount of people who actually believe North Korea’s claim.

You can read much more about this hijacking at the below link:

This soldier’s commander must have gave himself a facepalm after getting the phone call about this:

Two people who live and work at Kadena Air Base are suspected of making off with nearly $65,000 in the armed robbery of a currency exchange shop on Okinawa.

The business, which isn’t far from Camp Foster’s front gate, was robbed by two mask-wearing perpetrators about 4 p.m. Tuesday, according to an Okinawa Police spokesman who spoke on a customary condition of anonymity.

One or both of the suspects went behind the shop’s counter while brandishing a knife-like object, threatened an employee and demanded money, the spokesman said. They ran out with $64,700 in Japanese and U.S. currency. No one was injured.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Here is yet another possible cluster infection that could be popping up in Bucheon:

The Bucheon city government is stepping up efforts to trace more than 250 people who may have been exposed to COVID-19 after finding out that a patient was with them at a nightclub earlier this month.

According to the city government and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) Monday, the man, an undocumented Vietnamese immigrant, 32, went to the “Merit Night Club” with friends on the night of May 9. After spending about an hour there, they visited a pub and a noraebang (karaoke club) nearby.

Before testing positive for COVID-19 on May 16, the man, who works in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, also visited “Queen” club in Seoul’s Itaewon on May 1.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

You would think that with an issue as sensitive as the comfort women issue, that there would be checks to make sure the non-profit supporting those affected were credible and honest. Well that appears to have not been the case:

A civic group supporting victims of Japanese wartime sexual slavery reportedly purchased a house in Anseong, Gyeonggi, for 400 million won ($324,000) over market value.    
   
The Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan has been under fire for recently selling this facility, which was supposed to serve as a center for victims of the Japanese military’s sexual slavery during World War II. The facility, the House of Peace and Healing, was sold for 420 million won on April 24 at a reported loss.  
   
The Korean Council bought the two-story house in a residential area in Sangjung-ri, Geumgwang-myeon, in the city of Anseong in September 2013 for 750 million won — much more than the price of comparable properties in the area. Hyundai Heavy Industries at the time donated 1 billion won designated to building a healing center for “comfort women” victims.  
   
Yoon Mee-hyang, a lawmaker-elect and former head of the civic group, has faced various accusations of mishandling of the civic group’s donations. She put her father in charge of maintaining this facility, which had reportedly been used for church functions, workshops and retreats rather than for its original purpose.   
   
Lee Yong-soo, a 91-year-old comfort woman survivor and longtime rights activist, questioned Yoon’s integrity in a press conference earlier this month, which has led to a string of accusations against the Korean Council and Yoon on financial transparency. Yoon was elected as a proportional representative of the Citizen Party last month and had rebutted the various accusations.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Good news for USFK servicemembers:

The U.S. military said Monday it will lower its health risk level to moderate and lift most anti-coronavirus restrictions for bases except those in the Seoul area beginning Wednesday, citing “favorable” conditions in South Korea.

However, U.S. Forces Korea said bars, clubs and other adults-only establishments will remain off-limits on the peninsula following a recent outbreak in the popular Itaewon district.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.